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Thursday, July 30, 2009

5 "S" Words

I've done it again. An unintended two-week absence from my blog. Why, you might ask? Well, sometimes life just gets in the way. In this case, I think I can sum it up in 5 words, all beginning with the letter "s" ...

Staycation -- Last week, we shipped the kids up to Camp Grandma in NYC and I took the entire week off. Mrs. Quilt Dad and I thought of some short trips we could take, but decided instead to make it a "staycation" ... meaning a vacation where we don't go anywhere and just stay at home. It's my favorite kind of vacation, actually ... traveling can be so exhausting.

So I know what you're all thinking ... a full week off of work + no kids + staying at home = tons and tons of uninterrupted sewing time, right? Well, not so much. You might ask what I was able to accomplish, to which I would answer "nothing". Instead, I spent the time with my wife -- we ate at some of our favorite restaurants (as well as some new ones), caught up on our summer movies (Star Trek, Wolverine, and Harry Potter were all on the schedule), tried to get outside and exercise (not as much as we should have), sleep in, and generally reconnect. It was bookended by overnight stays in Alexandria and Washington DC, for the "exchange of goods" with my mom.

It was a great time, even though I didn't get too much of my sewing commitments completed. (Besides my Doll Quilt Swap responsibilities of course. It seems that one set of parental duties was merely replaced with another ... ! : ) This was also due in part to a major ...

... slip-up. I did have every intention of at least working on my July quilting bee commitments, but any sewing momentum that I had was quickly dashed after making a stoopid mistake.

The first block in my to-do pile that I decided to tackle was Tina's from the Cottage Quilting Bee. I remembered that Tina had requested wonky Denise Schmidt-inspired square-in-square blocks made from the yellows and grays that she sent. I happily started pulling some coordinating fabrics from my pile, cutting and piecing, generally having a great time. So great, in fact, that I didn't stop at one block and ended up with the following two for Tina:

There's only one problem. After finishing the blocks I went back and re-read Tina's directions, and she specifically asked that we not add in any additional fabrics to her selection. D'oh!! I felt terrible. I still haven't yet tried to squeeze a third block out of the remnants of Tina's fabric, but I will.

The bad news is that it killed my sewing mojo for the week. That was last week, and I still haven't gotten it back. The bad news is that tomorrow is July 31, and I still have a BUNCH of July blocks to work on. I also have August fabrics of my own to send out to my SewConnected 3 group, and I haven't even started cutting it yet. Needless to say, I will be tardy this month. I'm going to try to tackle them this weekend ... no promises, but I will try my best. I hope my peeps can all forgive me!

I can't even say that I'll be able to work on stuff tonight, because of my daughter's ...

Surgery. Yes, one of my daughters is having surgery first thing tomorrow morning. Nothing serious, but it is surgery nonetheless, and she will be receiving anaesthesia. We're driving a couple of hours west to Winston-Salem, which is where she was born and where her surgeon is based. Again, it's nothing serious ... but please keep her in your thoughts and prayers this evening!

Oh, back to the staycation. Let me tell you guys about my big ...

Score! I have been on the lookout for the past year or so for a nice, big work table for cutting and, well, working, but haven't really been able to find anything. I've seen some great tips from other bloggers for making your own tables out of shelving units, door blanks, etc., but I've really been holding out for a big table like Jenny's. Go take a look at that link and marvel in her magical workspace -- you'll be glad you did!

Anyhow, I was describing my want/need to a co-worker, and he told me about my local North Carolina State Surplus Property office. It's where all of the state departments and agencies dispose of any unneeded or recently-replaced property ... most notably, furniture.

I headed over there one day last week in the hopes of finding a table that might be suitable for my needs and space. My timing was impeccable. They had just gotten in a shipment of 25 work tables recently released from the North Carolina State University School of Design. Ummm, hello? EXACTLY what I wanted.

So I bought 2.

They were $5 apiece.

Granted, they are a little beat up, have tons of creative-student graffitti all over them, and a piece or two of dried gum stuck to the bottom. But I've got big plans for them. I've already bought some glossy white paint and will tackle that project when it cools down a bit.

A true hidden gem. I recommend that you find out if your state has one of these near you!

Finally, this has nothing to do with my blog absence, but I thought I'd share ...

Singer! Mrs. Quilt Dad and I went to see Jason Mraz in concert last night. He's one of our faves, so it was fun to get out for the night ... even if it meant yet another evening of sewing was put aside ...

What fun! staying home,? doing nothing and no kids, glorious...we have yet to do that... great job on finding those work tables, my mom did that too. a huge thing, just perfect. happy catching up with your work! good luck!

I'm glad you and MrsQD could have the week for just the two of you:)I'm so jealous that you saw Jason Mraz--I bet it was incredible!Hope all went well yesterday for your daughter's surgery. Have a great weekend!

I am so happy for the update! I hope the surgery went well and I am glad that you and your sweetie got to spend some grown-up time together. I am so jealous that you got to see Jason Mraz...He is so great! Is he as good in concert?? I hope so.

Love your blog QD!!! I really love the look of Denyse Schmidt's patterns. I have her book and would love to do a class with her...love your fabrics!!! I need to come over to America and look for fabrics for quilts in Nov!! I love patchwork...haven't really tried the quilting...one day. Thanks for sharing yourself with us all. xxxRobby

Hi, Thanks for recommending the Surplus Property office, I checked and it looks like Texas has one as well! I can't wait to visit it some time soon. Also, I totally love that wonky log cabin, quarter log cabin block you made, is there a tutorial for that somewhere? I think the Moda Bake Shop tutorial looks great! Thanks for sharing it. I just hope they post the printable PDF soon. Keep up the good work!Anna